Edith Fairhair
High '''Queen Edith I Fairhair '''was a Nordic ruler of the Kingdom of Haafingar, later known as the Kingdom of Skyrim, and member of the Fairhair Dynasty. Following the assassination of her father, King Burd, House Fairhair lost its rights to the throne after a power play by the new King Odfel. However, many vassals loyal to House Fairhair vowed to support her claim to the throne once she came of age nine years later. After marching on the Blue Palace and demanding her installation, King Odfel surrendered his crown and throne, making her Queen. While ruling as a kind and benevolent queen at home, Edith was known as an incredibly competent leader on the battlefield and conquered much of Skyrim in her time as Queen. After taking more than half of its territory, Queen Edith pronounced herself High Queen of Skyrim, officially recreating the kingdom after years of it being split. The remaining independent rulers did not bend the knee, however, and her later reign was spent in a period of multiple brutal civil wars. Early Life Edith was born while her father, King Burd, was away on conquest. She spent her early years at court with her mother, who raised her to be a lady. Because she and her sister were her father's only children, and because she was the oldest, Edith was set to be her father's heir. Still, her mother hoped her father would eventually return home and produce a son with her, as female rulers were frowned upon in Nordic culture. These dreams were never realized, as news finally reached the Blue Palace that Burd had been assassinated. Within a few days, the army of Odfel Ghilred arrived, proclaiming that Odfel was the new king. This was before the moot, however, and thus he was a mere pretender; the moot did proclaim him king nonetheless. Edith was allowed to keep her father's Jarldoms under a regency council, although those titles gave her no real power. King Odfel proved to be a tyrant, and his brutal methods as ruler turned his vassals against him. Though many tried to revolt on their own, the majority of them conspired to put Edith on the throne by uniting their armies against the king when she came of age. She spent the next nine years under her grandmother's protection, silently building an army. When the time came, she declared herself Queen of Haafingar and assembled her banners into a single army. Within a week, she marched on the Blue Palace and ordered King Odfel to abandon his throne. Outnumbered 6 to 1, the king had little choice but to surrender. He gave up his crown and allowed Edith to take over rulership. Queen of Haafingar Edith vowed from day one to be a kind and benevolent ruler and to bring prosperity to her new kingdom. Her vassals and subjects adored her and offered their full support. Her coronation was massive, with lords and ladies from all across the realm coming to bend the knee. That did not include Odfel, the former king, who was arrested and charged with treason along with his assassin, Galmar. She did not, however, have them executed; instead, they were allowed to live out the rest of their days in her dungeons. They both died within a few years. While Edith was a kind ruler, she still desired to carry out her family's legacy and continue the conquest of Skyrim. Though she was no warlord like her father, she still used her army to wage war. Meanwhile, she married a Nibenean nobleman and gave birth to a son, Ulfric. While Edith found much success on the battlefield, she had very little at home. Her first two husbands, Nosto and Talan, died from illness, and two of her children (Ulfric the trueborn and Grerid the bastard) died at a young age as well. After marrying a third husband, she produced two more children. Edith's rule was marked by a great deal of intrigue among her vassals. Dozens of factions were formed against her, many demanding independence or lowered crown authority. She had to accept demands multiple times in order to avoid civil war, and lost varying degrees of territory and authority along the way. Regardless of the civil strife at home, Edith was incredibly successful abroad. After conquering so much land that Haafingar grew to be half the size of Skyrim, Edith believed it was time that she declare herself High Queen. She believed that if she recreated Skyrim, the rest of the rulers would fall into place as her vassals. She was wrong, however, and many of them declared war against her for daring to call herself High Queen. High Queen of Skyrim At the age of 66, the former Queen of Haafingar had become High Queen of Skyrim in title only; she didn't have the full support of all of Skyrim's rulers, and thus was merely a pretender. Still, many of her vassals and subjects rallied around her as the true High Queen and lent their troops to unite Skyrim. Meanwhile, fearing that she would soon die from illness or natural causes, Edith sought creative ways to extend her life. She consulted with her court mage, a sorceress, to use dark magic to give her a longer lifespan. After a few weeks of preparation, a spell was cast; the sorceress ensured her queen that the spell was successful, though in the coming years it would be proven that it was not. Death Following her coronation as High Queen of Skyrim, Edith grew infirm and suffered from poor health. She withdrew from court and spent her last few years ruling from her bed. She became incapable by her last few months and had to issue a regency council to rule in her place. She died shortly after her 71st birthday, making her House Fairhair's oldest member and the first to die of natural causes. Her kingdom was passed down under primogeniture succession laws to her oldest surviving son, Torsten I. Personality and Traits Edith was raised by her grandmother, who was a remarkably kind woman who instilled the same values in Edith. Thus, she grew up to be the opposite of her brutal and reckless father. Like any true Nord, however, she proved to be a fighter: she ordered her armies to conquer anyone who would not bend the knee; unlike her father, though, she was merciful to her enemies. Any captured prisoners were treated well, and all potential foes were given multiple opportunities to accept vassalage. Family * King Burd of Haafingar : Father (Deceased) * Queen Grerid Ember-Crusher : Mother (Deceased) * Queen Elrid Toad-Stone : Grandmother and Guardian (Deceased) * King Nosto Afelian : First husband (Deceased) * King Talan Tor : Second husband (Deceased) * King Antoine Farr : Third husband (Deceased) * Princess Fryfnhild Fairhair : Sister (Deceased) * Prince Ulfric Fairhair : First son (Deceased) * Prince Luvan Tor : Second son (Deceased) * Grerid : Bastard daughter (Deceased) * High King Torsten Fairhair : Son (Deceased) * Prince Savard Fairhair : Son (Deceased) Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Nords Category:High Kings